exida, the global leader in functional safety and cybersecurity certification for the process industries has certified three Schneider Electric product development sites in Foxboro, Mass., Worthing, U.K., and Hyderabad, India, for compliance with the exida Security Development Lifecycle certification based on IEC 62443-4-1. exida is a globally recognized ISO 17065 accredited Certification Body (CB) in cybersecurity.

The three certified Schneider Electric sites utilize a product development lifecycle that includes cybersecurity considerations in all phases of new product development, demonstrating an institutionalized commitment to securing industrial automation and control systems (IACS).

“As IT and OT converge, more technology is connecting with more technology; more people are connecting with more technology; more people are connecting with more people. All this connectivity is driving an influx of data that can be very beneficial to control system operators and engineers, but it all has to be secured first,” said Andy Kling, director of Process Automation cybersecurity and software practices, Schneider Electric. “This certification acknowledges our commitment to addressing safety and cybersecurity concerns head on to ensure our customers can take advantage of all the benefits of a connected, modern plant. We are pleased to work with exida and other industry-leading organizations, and look forward to continuing and strengthening our relationship with them so we can all meet continuous, rigorous cybersecurity demands.”

“Schneider Electric has a strong, industry-leading product development process and they built upon that to add the requirements of exida’s cybersecurity program,” said Dr. William Goble, exida managing director. “They treated the cybersecurity issue very seriously and created a process that will help them avoid hacker attacks.”